CONFIDENTIAL
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Mr Str
styptton
POLICY TOWARDS DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
HKG 025/1
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 11 JAN 1979
INDEX
No
OFFICER
PA
B15-1 ee
Bu 29 Jan
$.4.
1. I attach a draft despatch on policy towards the Dependent Territories, updating Mr Callaghan's despatch of 13 June 1975. This draft has been prepared in consultation with WIAD, PTD,
EAD, MCD, South American Department, SED, Defence Department
and the ODM. It still needs some further work done on it,
but I hope you will agree that it is in a sufficiently advanced
state to be suitable for discussion at the Caribbean OAG's
Conference in January. We can then prepare a final version for
submission to Ministers.
There
2. The draft recommends no new policy initiatives: it is essentially no more than a clarification of existing policies,
which Ministers have confirmed should remain unaltered.
are however a number of points where there is some uncertainty about what existing policy is, or should be. These points, which could perhaps be discussed at the Conference, include the following:-
(a) To what extent, if at all, should indirect pressure be
brought to bear on territories that are reluctant to move towards independence? At present, the draft says simply that it is not our policy to bring pressure to bear on territories to move to independence more rapidly than they want to. But Mr Duff has pointed out that, while this is true of direct pressure, it has certainly been his Depart- ment's understanding that the so called policy of "acceler- ated decolonisation" meant that while refraining from
direct bullying, we should apply indirect pressure whenever an opportunity to do so arises. He quotes as examples our refusal to agree to the BVI's request for a local Governor, our continuing control of budgets through Grant in Aid, and our refusal to allow the Turks and Caicos to have uncon-
trolled gambling or to "sell" one of their islands to North
CONFIDENTIAL
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